The Littlest Pontmercy
by BrandonMichelle
Summary: A prequel to my fic "The Pontmercys". It's the story of how the youngest child of Marius and Cosette came into the world. I consider myself on the frontline of bringing more Marius/Cosette adorableness to this site. Novel and musical based fic. Reviews are nice to see.
1. Dreams

Cosette awoke suddenly late one night and rubbed her swollen stomach, she was eight months pregnant with her sixth child and it was kicking and moving around inside her. She smiled when she felt the baby move; she was so looking forward to having a new-born in the house again, it had been nearly three years since she had her last baby, a boy, so she couldn't wait to meet this new one.

She kept having dreams about this baby; she swore she could see the child in her dreams. For the past month she had been having a dream about a beautiful little blonde haired girl with gorgeous blue eyes. Cosette would be standing alone in a room and she would see a child sitting turned away from her, then the child would see Cosette and walk up to her and take her hand and smile at her, but the dream always ended there and she would wake up. She didn't know what it meant, perhaps it was nothing and it was just her imagination she had thought, but it had convinced her she was carrying a girl. She hadn't told Marius about her dream though; she didn't want him to think she was going mad.

Try as she might she couldn't fall back to sleep, it was very dark in the room but she could feel Marius sleeping next to her, she slipped the blankets off herself and lit one of the oil lamps beside the bed and the room filled with a yellow glow. The baby was still moving around so she decided to walk around the room for a while to try and tire herself out again.

Marius awoke just then and blinked himself awake in the dim light; he noticed Cosette pacing the room and was confused as to why she wasn't in bed.

"Cosette?" He said quietly, "What are you doing? What time is it?" He glanced at the clock beside the bed and saw it was nearly 3am. He sat up in the bed, "Is something wrong?" he asked, now suddenly anxious. He had always been a very concerned husband during all of Cosettes pregnancies and would be interested in everything that would happen, a lot of men he knew would become disinterested when their wives were pregnant, but not him. He loved Cosette more than anything and when she was carrying his child he wanted to be there for her.

"I couldn't sleep" Cosette said quietly, she put a hand on her stomach and looked down "She keeps moving around"

This was the first time Cosette had said "She" when referring to the baby, she hadn't realised she had said it until Marius looked at her with a furrowed brow

"She?" He asked inquisitively

Cosette then realised what she had said and she tried to cover her mistake.

"Um….or he" She said bashfully "I mean, the baby keeps moving".

Marius looked at her with a curious expression on his face; she was being quite adorable at the moment, she looked like she had a secret she was keeping from him.

Cosette, still standing in the middle of the room, smiled at her husband and said "I think it's a girl".

"Why?" He asked

Cosette felt shy again and didn't want to reveal her dream to Marius, "I…..just think it is" she said.

"Come back to bed" Marius said to her gently, he was intrigued now and he wasn't going to let this go. He patted the mattress next to him and Cosette climbed in the bed again and Marius placed a hand on her stomach, she smiled at him, noticing the curious expression he had on his face and knew she had already said too much.

"Why do you think it's a girl?" Marius asked her gently and with a smile on his face

"You won't believe me Marius" Cosette said shyly

"Try me" he said, still smiling at her

"I….I keep dreaming about her" she told him hesitantly.

Marius didn't say anything to that right away, he just looked at her with a surprised expression on his face, he hadn't expected her to say that, but at the same time it was such a beautiful thing to say.

"You've been dreaming about her?" he asked, repeating her sentence as if it would make more sense the second time

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but Marius I swear to you I can see her so clearly in my head" Cosette said excitedly. "I keep seeing a little girl in my dreams, she's wearing a white dress and she smiles at me and holds my hand".

Marius smiled at his wife, he believed her. He felt enchanted by the way she talked about the little girl in her dreams and he wanted to know more. He put his hand on Cosettes cheek and stroked her face with the back of his hand.

"What does she look like?" he asked with genuine interest

Cosette closed her eyes for a moment and smiled, she opened them and looked at Marius again

"She's beautiful, she's has blue eyes and hair like mine and she smiles like an angel". She said dreamily

Marius kissed his wife on the forehead gently, "How wonderful it must be inside your head my dear" he said, still smiling at her.

"I think it's a girl too" he said touching her stomach with his hand again "I've thought that for a while. You were much bigger by this time when you were carrying the boys. Do you remember how small you were when we had Marie?"

Cosette nodded sleepily, she was finally feeling tired again and was ready to fall back to sleep.

Marius sat up and then leaned down to kiss her stomach gently, he rested his head against her for a while and watched his wife close her eyes.

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough wont we?" he whispered to her

Cosette smiled with her eyes closed, she couldn't wait to see what the baby would look like. Somehow she thought that this baby would be very special, all her children were special in their own way, but she could feel something different about this baby already, she couldn't explain it, but it was like she could feel its soul.

Marius lay down again next to his wife and kissed her softly on the lips "Go back to sleep" he whispered to her, even though she was already drifting off.

Marius watched her sleep for a while; she was so beautiful right now. She always had a special glow about her when she was pregnant, it was something he couldn't explain, but when she was carrying his child he felt even more in love with her than he usually was.  
He too was looking forward to meeting his new baby, he was wondering what it would look like and wished he could see inside Cosettes dreams and see his child. He knew that whatever it was though, boy or girl, it would still be a lovely child and he would love it just as much as his other children.


	2. Birth

**I've never given birth, I've only ever seen it on TV so this may not be an entirely accurate portrayal of it. Try not to judge me too harshly please.**

* * *

One month later the Pontmercy family were gathered in the living room, it was nearly bedtime for the children and they were about to be taken upstairs by the nanny. Marius had hired a live in nanny years ago after their first child Marie had been born, they were quite devoted parents anyway but it was expected of the upper classes to have a nanny to help with the children and after the quick succession of four more children in the household, Jean, Isabel, Courfeyrac, and Léon she proved to be an asset to the family. The children liked her very much, and Cosette was very glad of the help now that she was in her ninth month of pregnancy.

The children were about to say goodnight to their parents when all of a sudden Cosette felt a pain in her abdomen, she knew what it was, it was a contraction, but she still cried out suddenly and grabbed her stomach.

The children froze, Jeans eyes in particular were wide with fear to see his mother suddenly doubled over in pain. He was quite attached to his mother and had never seen her in pain before, not like this anyway.

Marius rushed over to his wife to help her up again. "Is it time?" he asked her, and Cosette nodded with her eyes closed, scrunched up with pain.

Marius instructed the nanny to get the children into bed, he reassured them that their mother was fine and there was nothing to worry about and he said goodnight to them all.

He then helped Cosette get upstairs to their bedroom and helped her change into a nightgown so she would be more comfortable, all their children had been born in this room and Marius felt like they were both experts at this whole thing by now. He had already prepared a little bassinet and put it beside their bed in anticipation of the little person they were expecting.  
Marius had insisted on staying with Cosette during each birth and this time would be no different, he knew that it wasn't expected of him, it wasn't expected of men at all in fact but he didn't care, he wasn't going to let Cosette go through this alone.

Cosette was still anxious this time even though it was her sixth birth, she knew exactly what to expect, which was mostly pain, but she couldn't say she wasn't excited at the idea of meeting her new baby at last. Marius had Nicolette fetch a midwife, and when she turned up Cosette was pleased to see that she was the same midwife who had delivered Léon, she had been amazing when she delivered him so Cosette was completely reassured this time too.

After an examination of Cosette though the midwife told them that it was going to be hours yet until the baby would be born and Cosette was dismayed to say the least at the idea of hours of pain.

Another contraction hit Cosette and she screamed; the midwife had encouraged her to move around the bedroom to try to get her waters to break, but after a while of that Cosette got too tired and just lay on the bed instead.

* * *

Several hours had passed now and it was after midnight, there was still no baby and Cosette was getting in a state because of the pain. Marius decided he needed a breather, and since Cosette was resting for the moment he decided to step out of the room for a while to gather his thoughts, he opened the bedroom door quietly and was surprised when he saw Jean dressed in his nightshirt scrambling to his feet, the boy had been listening at the door and was caught off guard when Marius opened it.

"Jean what are you doing?" he asked as the boy stood up, his eyes were as wide as saucers. Marius closed the door behind him and looked sternly at his son "Why are you out of bed?"

"I was scared, I heard Mama screaming" Jean said timidly.

Marius felt sorry for his son, he was only seven years old and he looked terrified right now. He hadn't explained to him everything about how babies were born and he realised how scary it must be for him to hear his mother in pain. He was too young to remember when the twins Isabel and Courfeyrac were born, and when Léon arrived he had been in school so he had never seen his mother like this.

He reached out his hand to his son and Jean took it, Marius stroked his hand gently to reassure the young boy that everything was alright.

"You need to go back to bed" Marius said quietly "Come on, I'll take you".

Marius led his son back to the bedroom he shared with his brothers; Courfeyrac was fast asleep, as was Léon who was in a cot in the corner. Marius lifted his son on to the bed and sat him upright for the moment; he knelt beside the bed so he could look his son in the eye and have a talk with him.

"I know you're worried about your mother Jean, but don't be, she'll be fine. You're a good boy to be so concerned about her but I'm looking after her I promise." He said to his son.

"But why is she screaming Papa? Is mama sick?" The boy said quietly

Marius didn't know how to explain the process of childbirth to his seven-year old without scaring him even further, also he was anxious to get back to his wife and just wanted his boy to go back to sleep right now so he could turn his attention back to her.

"No she's not sick" Marius said "Do you remember what I told you about the new baby inside your mother?" He asked the young boy.

Jean nodded, remembering what his father had told him once about where babies come from.

"Your new little brother or sister is just hurting her a little as it's ready to be born" Marius said, "She'll be just fine soon though, and then you'll have a new baby to play with, wont that be nice?"

"I don't want a new baby, I want mama to stop hurting" Jean said with tears in his eyes.

"Just go back to sleep son" Marius said, "Your mothers going to be alright, now lie down".

Marius helped the boy back under the covers and kissed him goodnight, he wished he could do more to comfort him but Cosette needed him more right now so he just tucked the boy in and told him not to leave his room again for the rest of the night.

* * *

Hours passed and there was still no baby, Marius was starting to get concerned, even Marie who had been the firstborn hadn't taken this long to arrive. Cosette was just exhausted and was desperate to have this over and done with. It was nearing seven in the morning by the time anything serious started happening and the midwife told Cosette it was time to start pushing.

Cosette was completely wiped out, she had no energy left in her to push a baby out and she was close to tears just from the exhaustion of the whole thing, she just wanted this to be over.

"You need to push now dear, the baby's coming" The midwife said firmly to Cosette

Cosette sat propped up against some pillows and pushed down as hard as she could, she was so exhausted though she barely had any strength left in her to do anything, she was trying so hard but the midwife wasn't seeing anything happen.

"You need to push harder, nothing's happening" she said strictly again to Cosette

"I can't do it" Cosette screamed in exhaustion

"Yes you can Cosette" Marius said, trying to motivate her "You've done this before, you just need to push".

Cosette was beyond tired, she had been in pain all night, she was covered in sweat and she just wanted this to be over. She gritted her teeth and tried to find some strength somewhere, she prayed to herself and she pushed down as hard as she could and then the midwife finally had some good news.

"That's it dear, I can see the head, keep pushing" she said "Alright, stop for a minute, the heads out, just breathe now".

Cosette was panting now like she had been instructed to do and was just focused on the fact that her baby was nearly here.

"One more big push now dear" the midwife said

And with that Cosette pushed the baby out and collapsed backwards onto the bed in relief and exhaustion, she had gotten through it and the baby was born, she felt so glad that it was finally over and she smiled to herself.

But then she realised something was wrong and she tried to sit up again.

"Why isn't it crying?" she asked, feeling very panicked. Her other babies had all been crying almost right away, _why wasn't this one crying_ she thought to herself.

The midwife didn't answer her, she was focused on the baby right now and was trying to clear its mouth of fluid and was rubbing it with a blanket trying to get it to respond. The poor little thing was so still and quiet and Cosette went as white as a sheet.

"Oh God...please no, not my baby" Cosette said, now with tears running down her face "Marius..." she looked up at her husband, as if he could do anything to help. He was looking at the baby, but it wasn't moving. His eyes filled with tears and he took Cosettes hand as if he was about to prepare her for the worst.

It didn't seem real, was their baby dead? It seemed too horrible to be true. It felt like time had stopped and neither of them could breathe.

But then they heard a small shrill cry, and they both breathed again, relieved beyond belief to hear the sound of their little one crying.

The midwife smiled slightly and was wrapping the baby in a small blanket "It's a girl" she said happily, "Congratulations".

The midwife cut the babies cord and placed the little girl in Cosettes arms. The baby stopped crying instantly when Cosette held her and she looked up at her mama with gorgeous blue eyes.

Marius sat on the edge of the bed and was just looking at the tiny little girl and beaming,_ she was such a beautiful little thing_ he thought.

"Is she alright" He asked the midwife as Cosette held her baby and cried gently out of sheer happiness.

"The heartbeats strong Monsieur, and her lungs are clear. She said "Sometimes the shock of birth gets to them that's all, but she's perfectly alright now."

Cosette was smiling at her new daughter, "Hello my little one" she whispered to her "Oh you're so beautiful, I knew you'd be a little girl."

Marius put one of his arms around Cosette and kissed her hair gently; she was still looking down at her baby and didn't even notice as the midwife dealt with the afterbirth. She looked up at her husband and smiled.

"Marius, she looks exactly like I dreamed she would" Cosette said to him sweetly

Marius wiped tears from his eyes and smiled at his wife, "I'm so proud of you Cosette" he said quietly to her.

Cosette turned back to her baby and pulled her nightdress down a little so the baby could start suckling, she had breastfed all her babies and it made her feel such a strong bond with them when she did. It was the best feeling any mother could have to be able to feed her baby.

The midwife had packed away her equipment and was getting ready to leave; Marius stood up and went over to her.

"Thank you for everything Madame" He said to her gratefully.

"It was my pleasure Monsieur" she said with a smile on her face "Congratulations again" and with that she let herself out of the bedroom and then left the Pontmercy house.

Marius went back to his wife and sat back in the armchair next to the bed and happily watched Cosette feeding the baby, she was still smiling gleefully, but she was exhausted beyond belief.

"I'm so tired" she said quietly "But I don't want to stop looking at this little one, she's so beautiful".

The baby stopped feeding for the moment and closed her eyes peacefully; Cosette looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep too.

"You should rest darling" Marius said softly, "You're exhausted, let me take her." He took the baby out of Cosettes arms and she lay down again to sleep, her body gave her little choice on the matter.

Marius held his new baby in his arms for the first time and was already in love with her, he was marvelling at her tiny hands and her gorgeous eyes, he kissed her forehead as she rested gently against him, he really felt that this little girl was someone very special and he felt tears in his eyes again just from looking at her.

He looked over at Cosette; who had already fallen asleep. He sat quietly with his little girl for a while and felt so blessed that both his wife and his baby were safe and healthy, he felt like someone was definitely looking down on them that morning and smiling upon them.


	3. Siblings

Marius placed his baby girl in the little basket beside the bed and smiled, she was such a gorgeous little thing. He looked at the clock and decided it was time to wake the other children and introduce them to their new sister.

Marius went to the girls bedroom first to wake them; they were still fast asleep when he let himself into the room. He went over to his eldest daughter first and woke her up with a kiss on the forehead.

"Marie" he whispered to her, "Time to wake up". The girl awoke slowly and he went to wake Isabel next, he took them over to the wash basin in the side of the room so they could wash their hands and faces. He took the girls by the hand and led them out of their bedroom.

"Be very quiet girls, and come with me" he said as he led them towards the other bedroom where his three boys were still fast asleep. If Marius hadn't been smiling this whole time the girls might have been worried about this unusual morning procedure, but his face and his speech reassured them that something very good was happening.

He woke the two older boys up in the same way as he had the girls and instructed them to wash their faces and hands too; he decided to let Léon sleep a little longer as he was still two years old and could be cranky if he was woken too early.

Jean still had a very concerned look on his face, but Marius tried to reassure him that everything was alright.

"There's nothing to be worried about" Marius said to him, then he addressed all his children "Now, everyone be very quiet and stay here and wait for me, I have a surprise for you all".

Marius left the boys room and went back to his bedroom where Cosette was now fast asleep, the baby was awake and gurgling happily in the basket, Marius went quietly up to her and picked her up gently, hoping that she wouldn't cry and wake Cosette. The dear little thing didn't make a sound though and Marius smiled at her for a little while before he quietly left the room again with the baby in his arms.

The children sat quietly together in the other room wondering what was happening and why they had all been gathered like this, except for Jean who sat separate from the others knowing full well what the surprise was, he still had a look of concern on his face when his papa came back into the room.

Marie gasped and covered her mouth when she saw the tiny bundle in his arms, and Marius smiled at them all and walked over to them.

"Don't make too much noise now children, and say hello to your new little sister" He said smiling widely; he knelt down so he could be at the childrens level and they all took a look at the little baby.

Courfeyrac, the mischievous little thing that he was, paid no heed to his fathers words and exclaimed "She's tiny!" a little bit louder than Marius would have liked.

He glared at his son, but the baby wasn't disturbed by him at all so he couldn't stay too angry at him for long.

"Who would like to hold her?" he asked his little ones

The girls both raised their hands excitedly, both overjoyed that they had a new sister to play with; Courfeyrac was unimpressed that the baby was a girl, he was a five-year old boy after all and therefore was uninterested in anything that wasn't also a boy like him. Jean was still sitting away from his siblings looking detached.

"Me Papa!" said Marie in an excited whisper, "Oh please may I hold her!"

"Of course you can my dear, you first, then Isabel can hold her" said Marius smiling at his daughters, "Hold out your arms like mine"

Marie made a cradle shape with her arms like her fathers and Marius placed the baby gently into them, she gasped at how tiny and delicate she was. Marie just looked down at her new sister and smiled for the longest time, and then she gave the baby a kiss.

"Isabel would you like to hold her now?" Marius asked his five-year old daughter

The young girl nodded her head happily and Marie passed the baby on to her younger sister, Isabel had a lot of practise handling dolls so she knew exactly how to hold the baby, she was naturally maternal and looked so darling holding her baby sister in her arms.

"Can we keep her Papa?" Isabel asked in her own childlike way, she was so young that she hadn't grasped the idea that the baby was a real person and not a doll that could be taken away.

"Of course we can keep her sweetheart" Marius said smiling at his middle daughter, "She belongs to us now. She's a Pontmercy."

Isabel smiled widely and then also gave her baby sister a kiss, they were both totally in love with their sister already and Marius felt so proud of the two of them.

Marius then turned to his eldest son who was still looking glum, "Would you like to hold the baby Jean?" he asked him, but the boy just shook his head.

"She's nothing to be scared of" he said, and he reached out to bring his son closer to the baby.

But the boy wasn't interested in the baby at all; he was still worried about his mother.

"I want to see Mama" he said quietly

Marius sighed; Jean just would not believe him no matter how many times he assured him that Cosette was fine.

"She's sleeping Jean" He told his son firmly "She's alright though, she's just tired".

He brought his son into the circle of his other children and put his arms on the boys shoulders to reassure him, then he addressed all the children.

"We all have to be very quiet today so your mother can rest" he said to them all, at which point Léon awoke in his cot and Marius brought the toddler over to meet his new sister. He was still too young to understand what was going on but Marius felt very proud when his youngest boy gave his new sister a kiss.

Marius then went to find the nanny so she could get the children dressed and take them downstairs for breakfast. Marius took the baby downstairs himself and held her while the other children ate, he was so enraptured by his new daughter that he couldn't take his eyes off her. He felt so protective of this baby already, he could tell that he was going to have a hard time giving this little one up to another man some day, it was a fear he had with all his daughters, but right now he was still her papa and that made him the most important man in his baby's life, and he felt so proud to have that responsibility.

Jean was still not convinced his mother was alright, so after breakfast he waited until his father was distracted and disappeared upstairs to find out once and for all where his mother was. The young boy opened the door to his parents bedroom and let himself in quietly; he saw his mother was asleep and he walked over to her. She was sleeping on her side on one edge of the bed so he stood by her quietly watching her for a few moments and then reached out to touch her hair gently.

He stroked his mothers head tenderly for a few moments. He was such a sweet boy, he just wanted to make sure his mother was alright, it didn't matter how many times his father had assured him, he wasn't going to be satisfied until he had found out for himself.

Just then Cosette stirred and she gently opened her eyes, she was expecting to see Marius there but was instead greeted by her seven-year old son.

"Jean?" she asked quietly and slightly confused "What are you doing?"

Jean just smiled at her for a moment; he was so glad that she was alright.

"I wanted to see if you were alright Mama" he said to her softly

Cosette was touched by the boys concern; she had always been especially fond of her eldest son. When he was born she had told Marius that she was sure the boy looked like her papa, even though she knew it was impossible. That's why she had insisted they name him Jean. He was such a kind and gentle boy though and he reminded her of her papa in so many ways.

"Come here" she said sleepily to her son. She reached out one of her arms to pull him towards her so she could give him a hug; she kissed his hair and held him close to her. "My darling boy" she said softly, "Do you like your new sister?"

"No" he said firmly, with his head buried in his mothers blonde hair

Cosette felt slightly disappointed when he said that he didn't like the new baby, she was such a beautiful little thing, how could anyone not like her?

"Why not?" she asked him curiously

Jean pulled away from his mother and looked at her seriously for a moment

"Because she hurt you". He said sadly

Cosette just smiled at him for a moment, before she filled him in on some information he didn't know yet.

"Oh Jean" she said quietly "You hurt me too when you were born, all babies do. Don't hate your little sister for that, she's going to need her big brother to love her, just like I love you."

Jean smiled at his mother again; he was feeling a lot better about the whole situation now that he was certain that his mother was feeling alright again. Meanwhile Marius had noticed that Jean wasn't with his siblings and knew exactly where he had gotten to and he was not happy in the slightest.

Just then the bedroom door opened and Marius saw his son standing beside his mothers bed and he was livid at the boy for disobeying him.

"JEAN" he said angrily through gritted teeth, "Get away from there right now". But he was too late, Cosette had already been awoken.

He walked over to the bed and pulled Jean away from his mother a bit too roughly for Cosettes liking

"What are you doing?" Marius said angrily to his son, "I told you not to wake your mother".

"Don't Marius, let him be" Cosette said gently to her husband, who then softened and he released his grip on Jean; he looked into his sons eyes that were starting to fill with tears and knew he couldn't stay angry with him for very long.

"I'm sorry Papa, I just wanted to see her" the boy said tearfully.

"It's alright son, say goodbye to your mother and go downstairs" Marius said gently to the boy

Jean kissed his mother gently on the cheek and then turned to leave the room. Before he went Marius gave him a gentle slap on the behind, because even though his heart was in the right place he had still disobeyed his father, and that wasn't allowed in his house.

After Jean had shut the door Cosette looked up at her husband again

"Don't be angry with him Marius, he was just worried about me" She said sleepily.

Marius sat down in the armchair next to the bed and started stroking her hair gently.

"I know he was, but it's not his job to be worried, it's mine." He told her lovingly

Cosette smiled at him, _he was such a good_ _husband_ she thought happily to herself.

"Where's the baby?" she asked him when she suddenly realised she wasn't in the basket by the bed.

"She's with the nanny and the other children, she's alright Cosette don't worry" he told her "Just wait until you see the girls with her my darling, they already love her". He added smiling widely

Cosette smiled again and then happily closed her eyes.

Marius leaned over and kissed her hair, "Go back to sleep" he said to her quietly. And after Cosette was asleep again Marius went back downstairs to find Jean.

"I'm sorry I got angry with you, your mother just needs her rest that's all" he said to the boy and then he gave him a hug.

"Are you ready to hold your baby sister now?" he asked him and Jean nodded his head enthusiastically and smiled.

Marius took Jean to where the nanny was, who then handed the baby over to the young boy. Jean held his little sister in his arms and was instantly in love with her the second he looked into her bright blue eyes, they were exactly like her mother eyes and Jean couldn't help but love her for that.

Jean Pontmercy became a very good big brother to that baby, whom they decided to name Victoire. Throughout his childhood he was always protecting her and looking after her, if any other child ever dared to pick on her or call her a name he would always stand up for his little sister like a proper little gentleman should. Victoire grew up to be a very beautiful young lady, which only made Jean feel even more protective of her, he never let any man get away with disrespecting her and he never quite felt like any man was good enough for his baby sister.

As it turned out, Victoire was the last baby to join the Pontmercy family, although not for the lack of trying on Marius and Cosettes part. They had once said that they would let God decide how big their family should be and they thought perhaps He had decided that six new Pontmercys was enough for the world.

**The End**


End file.
